Syracuse University

Donald G. McPherson '87
For Excellence in Social Activism

Don McPherson is one of the most highly decorated athletes in Syracuse University football history. As SU's star quarterback in 1987, he led the Orangemen to an 11-0-1 season and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting that year. He holds or shares 11 Syracuse football records, and he claimed MVP honors in the 1987 Sugar Bowl. His many accolades include winning more than 18 national Player of the Year honors during his collegiate career, the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, the Maxwell Player of the Year, and the inaugural Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He was inducted into the NCAA College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. 

After graduating from Syracuse with a degree in psychology, McPherson played for three years in the NFL and four seasons in the Canadian Football League. He went on to become associate director of Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA) — a program that trains high school student athletes to talk with their peers and younger students on topics ranging from building self-esteem to preventing violence. Following that McPherson was Director of Athletes in Service to America and Associate Director of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports at Northeastern University. 

McPherson is one of the nation's leading educators and advocates for the prevention of men's violence against women. He has conducted workshops and lectures on this topic for more than 200 college campuses, community organizations, and national sports and violence prevention organizations, and facilitated the first NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in 1997. Presentations have reached more than one million people. He also founded the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University, using the power and appeal of sports to provide proactive and positive violence prevention programs. 

As a social activist and feminist, McPherson has testified at hearings before the U.S. House of Representatives and worked closely with the Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women, the Centers for Disease Control, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Lifetime Television, and many other violence prevention organizations. He has been honored with numerous humanitarian awards, including the Frederick Douglas Men of Strength Award and Lifetime's Champions for Change Award, and he has been featured on Nightline and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

For Syracuse University, McPherson has served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, participated in Syracuse Welcome─giving his anti-violence against women lecture to incoming students─and is honorary co-chair of the 2009 Orange Central festivities. He currently owns Don McPherson Enterprises LLC, a company that offers professional training and coaching to help organizations maximize their potential.    McPherson continues to do violence prevention work through speaking and consulting and serves on the Board of the MS Foundation for Women. He is also a principal of G9 Turf, Inc., a new synthetic turf company.